Culture
How cells recognize pathogens and alert the immune system swiftly is a fundamental process of high importance for the survival of any species, including humans. A key role is ascribed to so-called adapters, that equal little molecular platforms inside cells where signals from pathogen detectors are integrated for safety and accuracy and conveyed to lasting signals leading to the activation of the major "red alarm" genes, like interferons.
Although COVID-19 commands the headlines today, tuberculosis (TB) remains the biggest infection killer in the world and multiple drug resistant TB, which does not respond to regular antibiotics, continues to be a major threat to global health.
TB is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis kills over 4,000 individuals daily throughout the world; while here in Ireland resistant and highly complex cases of TB continue to rise year after year, with cases numbering over 300 annually.
In the fight against the current pandemic, researchers of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg are coordinating an international collaboration to build a COVID-19 Disease Map: a comprehensive repository incorporating all current knowledge on the virus-host interaction mechanisms. This online tool will support research and improve our understanding of the disease.
Scientists have identified a pair of neutralizing antibodies - isolated from a patient who recovered from COVID-19 - that bind to the glycoprotein spike of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, blocking the spike's ability to bind to the human ACE2 receptor and mediate viral entry into host cells. Preliminary tests of the two antibodies in a mouse model resulted in a reduction of virus titers, suggesting that the antibodies may offer therapeutic benefits - in addition to informing the design of small molecule therapeutics and vaccine candidates to fight COVID-19.
By 11 May, when lockdown restrictions were eased in France, about 4.4% of the French population had been infected with SARS-CoV-2, a new modeling study suggests. These estimates are well short of what would be required for herd immunity, say the authors. Understanding the level of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 will be key to avoiding a rebound in the epidemic as populations around the world ease lockdowns.
It's a frustrating limitation of 3D printing: Printed objects must be smaller than the machine making them. Huge machines are impractical for printing large parts because they take up too much space and require excessive time to print. Now, a new material reported in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces can be used to 3D print small objects that expand upon heating. The foam could find applications in architecture, aerospace and biomedicine. Watch a video here.
In late May and early June, Earthlings may be able to glimpse Comet SWAN. The comet is currently faintly visible to the unaided eye in the Southern Hemisphere just before sunrise -- providing skywatchers with a relatively rare glimpse of a comet bright enough to be seen without a telescope. But Comet SWAN's initial discovery was made not from the ground, but via an instrument on board ESA (the European Space Agency) and NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, satellite.
Astronomers have detected elusive pulsation patterns in dozens of young, rapidly rotating stars thanks to data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The discovery will revolutionize scientists' ability to study details like the ages, sizes and compositions of these stars -- all members of a class named for the prototype, the bright star Delta Scuti.
May 13, 2020, NEW YORK CITY — Researchers from MSK Kids at
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- During the current pandemic, panicked overbuying of products such as toilet paper, cleaning products and similar items often has led to limited options for consumers and empty store shelves. What's often left are generic or lower-priced branded products.
For much of the 20th century, summer was considered "polio season," and people were accustomed to seeing swimming pools and movie theaters closed to stave off the latest epidemic. Shaking hands was off limits, and even touching money was perilous. The ever-present threat of death or permanent paralysis from polio was part of life, as were regular social-distancing efforts to limit the terrible disease's spread.
More than 65,000 Americans are diagnosed annually with head
and neck cancer, which most often occurs inside the mouth and throat. For
patients who undergo surgery to treat this cancer, guidelines recommend that prompt
initiation of radiotherapy — within six weeks — is critical for best outcomes.
For most adolescents, playing video games is an enjoyable and often social form of entertainment. While playing video games is a fun pastime, there is a growing concern that spending too much time playing video games is related to negative developmental outcomes and can become an addiction.
Ann Arbor, May 13, 2020 -- New research and guidance in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, published by Elsevier, focus on critical topics pertaining to community and individual health during the COVID-19 epidemic.
RESEARCHERS OUTLINE GUIDELINES TO HELP ADDRESS THE UNIQUE AND OFTEN OVERLOOKED RISKS POSED BY COVID-19 TO BOTH PRISON INMATES AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS
AMHERST, Mass. - Writing in the journal NanoResearch, a team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst reports this week that they have developed bioelectronic ammonia gas sensors that are among the most sensitive ever made.